hai kee seafood @ toa payoh lorong 8

i wouldn't do this on a normal day.

but i really wanted fish soup.

no regrets.

one of the last few orders at 830pm.

everyone else was already done with dinner by the time i got back with my order.

fresh fish slices.

thick soup.

opted for the addition of evaporated milk.

a bowl of comfort.

family dinners on sunday. :)

firsts.

Drip(ped) coffee. While you were waiting. 

Just because I was running late. :/

Hello rain. It's you I meet again.

Soup Broth Asia is the Asian counterpart to guys at The Soup Spoon just next door.

A menu of twelve different soup offerings with exact calorie counts for the weight conscious.

Each soup bowl serves about 500ml.

And just in case you were wondering,

The gourmet stock used in the soups at Soup Broth Asia is prepared using a unique method that takes at least eight hours.

Ingredients are cooked separately, and are then cooked with the gourmet stock. This cooking process preserves the nutritional value of the ingredients without sacrificing on taste.

Fujian style fish stew.

Don't bother looking at the pictures. They were hardly appetizing.

But look past that and into these glass bowls and you'll find something worth staying for.

This was good. Savoury.

Perhaps with the addition of pork slices.

The beancurd puffs were filling and just this bowl of soup was enough for a light meal.

All soups are served with a generous serving of white rice.

And there are options for add ons. A choice of vegetable and a drink for $3.80.

This was a good deal for a balanced diet.

Eat your greens!

These vegetables looked overfried.

Well fried indeed but still tasting good, albeit a little heavy handed on the salt and a tad oilier than I would've liked.

And I was glad for rice.

A recommended Pork Rib Tea, more familiar to most as Bak Kut Teh?

This was full on with the pepper.

I don't know about taste.

But no feedback is good feedback?

Oh and this was the only other place I've seen with instructions on the disposable chopsticks holder.

There were fold guidelines for making a chopstick rest.

Either we were terrible at following directions or there was just really no use for this except for novelty's sake.

And just for the record, no one else seemed to bother about the instructions.

Apologies for a terrible picture but they also do add-ons for a meat/ seafood at an additional charge.

These were wasabi mayo prawns.

For four prawns, the serving for the wasabi mayo could easily have been reduced by half and there would still be more than enough to go around.

The batter was light and crunchy enough to make these munchies addictive.

And the fruit cocktail at the side was a nice touch for colour.

So much for feeling fat and wanting a soupy dinner! :)

Still, this was perfect for a rainy day. I'd be back for more soups!

And this time round, with cash.

They only do cash payments and that's probably running in line with their casual quick dining concept.

Sorry you had to pick up the tab for dinner.

By now the rain had gone away and we had a good walk across the helix bridge, making it here in good time. :)

What one needs for an awesome Easter weekend.

Catch it if you haven't before the run ends April 22nd! :)

hong kong street chun kee revisited

For a simple takeout, a craving to be satisfied, a weekend dinner out or even a cause for celebration.

This is where it's at for us :)

Just a personal bowl of this will suffice.

Any time. Any day.

Especially. On rainy days.

All beansprouts should be silvers like these.

Slippery smooth flat pieces of rice noodles stir fried for that infusion of wok hei.
Topped with ample fish slices and just enough seafood flavoured gravy.
And beansprouts flash fried, retaining their colour and delicious crunch.
Uh huh. Order this.
If you aren't interested in the soup version.

Pungent. But juicy and succulent.

Eat with hands for best results.

Finger lickin' good. :)

Once in a while, this makes it to our order list.

Whenever dad feels like it.

Flathead fish chopped and deep fried before drowned in black bean sauce.

Some chopped onions, green and red peppers, baby corn, mushroom and black fungus.

Appeals to the sight.

Definitely whets the appetite.

Just a lil heavy on the salt which just means you might need some plain rice with this.

Maybe a lot of it. Seeing as how the gravy just opens up the stomach's capacity.

:)

lunch @ kallang bahru market

A hungry mummy after a whole morning of getting down on her handsandfeet (I kid you not)

to clean the house calls the shots at lunch.

This handsandfeet cleanup thing happens on a weekly basis.

She's secretly OCD.

First time we're doing lunch at Kallang/ Geylang Bahru Market.

It was WAY TOO HOT to be out there. Literally.

Dad grabs a fish soup that is pretty tasty (I'm not sure if there's seasoning in this)

And a lousy decision of adding 50 cents for an overfried rubbery egg.

But fresh fish slices and loads of tofu pieces.

And a surprisingly yummy yam cake.

And this was unanimous.

Not me myself and I being biased.

From a corner nondescript shop selling Kim Choo Dumplings.

And desserts of course.

She's a hungry mummy remember?

Sticky caramelized tapioca drizzled generously with coconut milk.

OH YUM.

Why restaurants when hawker centres are simply gems?

T restaurant

T Restaurant has been a landmark for almost 30 years at Nai Lert Market in Pratunam until development forced the restaurant out. Just further down the road from the Makkasan Railway Station that offers direct train access to the airport, it now offers a large array of their award winning seafood at their location just up the street on Rajprarob Road. Easy to spot, the restaurant has a large neon sign on the side of the building with a large crab and patrons enter to find the fresh catch of the day in large tanks of fish and seafood and a large dining area with huge chrome style pillars separating the space. The interior has not seen change for the past few times we've dined here and is becoming to look a little decrepit but there must be something that keeps us coming back...

If you haven't had a promfret steamboat. You ain't had nothing yet! This promfret fed a table of 12 people. I have no idea how much it must've weighed but it was fish that had good bite and a taste of simple fresh! The soup was boiled in charcoal steamboats close enough to the dining table so that you could get seconds or like me, thirds during the course of dinner.

Fresh garland chrysanthemum (tang oh) vegetable leaves are quickly blanched in the soup when it comes to a boil and placed at the bottom of the small soup bowl before two pieces of promfret and soup are spooned into the bowl. Naturally sweet tasting soup, fresh greens and firm pieces of promfret meat. This was good enough on its own and made better with their appetizing seafood sauce and green chilli :)

But then again, this was Bangkok and there's no better reason than being in the company of family and friends to get stuffed! Or no, let's put this into perspective. 

Now there's no better time to order everything on the menu that's awesome just because this time, we have the numbers to share these delights with!

So of course the promfret couldn't possibly be the first dish. It's too much of a show stopper. Spoilsport! :p



Crabmeat fried rice. The importance of generous servings of crabmeat as shown right here. The rice grains were loosely fried with egg and scallions with an evident breath of wok fire. The crabmeat fried rice here in Bangkok has always -shown- itself true. Pun entirely intended. This was crabby carbs totally worth their weight :)



These flower clams with their pretty prints. The sauce was savoury, a generous use of fish sauce and slightly spicy. Makes you want to put the shell into your mouths to eat the clams together with that awesomely addictive sauce.
  

I don't see oysters this size in Singapore. The eggy bits were thick and fluffy but it also came with a generous amount of cornstarch which you might skip if you didn't want to make this your carb staple. All this on a bed of raw beansprouts and spring onions which were lightly cooked on the hotplate which it was served on. It was oily, carbo laden and ohsoverygood, it was gone in a few servings. :)



I like my veggies, mushrooms and why wouldn't I sppreciate the addition of bamboo clams? :) The kale retain its green and crunchy stems. Mushrooms and bamboo clams soaking in the flavours of the oyster sauce in which it was stir fried. So much for grandma thinking these bamboo clams were pigs intestines. *shivers.

And here we had a quick advertisement break with the lady boss who came over and was so pleased to hear that we were diners from Singapore, the place where she sent her children for school before going onto universities. She's a very friendly and hospitable boss but don't bother about discounts. We tried asking in jest and all our comments on discounts and VIP cards were ignored. Somehow it was all about hearing the good things. :p



Bamboo shoots are one of those vegetables that could potentially kill if not cooked appropriately.Seems it isn't possible to buy these fresh from any of our local markets already. Grandma gets her stash from the markets in Johor and uses them to cook her HockChiew styled beehoon in thick soup. Now, these bamboo shoot slices had a crunch to them that spoke of fresh good stir frying. And a side kick of fresh prawns with some good bite made it all the better. :)

Just in case there wasn't enough food, why don't we have a pot of green mussels while we're at it. Something my dad has sworn off because he's got psychological issues. Lots of them. But I digress. So he sees them as fish bait and will not touch them at all. These green mussels were simply done with mint basil leaves, lemon grass, chopped garlic and chilli. The flavours weren't very much infused into the mussels or maybe we were just all too full by then.

Now all this was just one dinner. And if I forgot, these came in doubles. Two servings of everything for our party of 12. It was a party alright!

Have you tried this Chinese-Thai landmark and if you haven't, there's no time like the next Bangkok trip to do just that! :)

T restaurant.
78/12-16 Rajprarob Road,
Rajthevee, Payathai, Bangkok

 Thanks for dinner Uncle Aek!

there's nothing like fresh.

On a cold, wet and rainy day.

I took refuge at Sembawang Hills Food Centre for a lunch date with my girlfriend who works further down the road.

And there was no question about it.

My choice of food that is. (Amazing, I know :))

Fish soup. With rice no less.

Instantly,

It made the world look brighter.

Two simple things.

A good meal. Awesome company.

Simple.

 

鱼三鲜汤

590 Upper Thomson Road,
Sembawang Hill Food Centre
Singapore(574419)

Sembawang Hill Food Centre

Hong Kong Street Takeout

He's the last of us three to be sitting for his 'O' Levels.

The little brother has been out and about on study dates.

Time is of the essence.

And we won't be eating out in peace knowing that he would be hungry till we got home.

When we eat, we eat together as a family. Whenever possible :)

And good food need not be waited for personally.

So we sent our dad out for this:

Not our usual takeout order of a  虾酱鸡 Shrimp/ Prawn Paste Chicken.

Did you know that this popular 'local' dish originated a neighbouring country? 

Vietnam, in fact. This paste is a pinkish-grey coloured condiment made from fermented sea shrimps which accounts for its pungent smell and a distinctly salty seafood flavour. The chicken was crispy on the outside but remained moist on the inside. One bite releases the steam and flavoursome juices from within. Burns your tongue but you just can't stop at one :)

There must be some milk in there somewhere correct?

Wrong.

This is one of the few branches of the Hong Kong Street Franchise that does it without milk.

So pray tell where this milky white colour comes from?

I find that I've come to appreciate food more when I know more about them. 

Culinary tidbit sharing coming right up!

It seems that the authentic versions of this Cantonese-style soup dish involves some culinary science.

 The fish pieces are first deep fried. After which, the oil is drained off. Then at very high wok heat, ginger stock is slowly poured in. Only at such high temperatures can the stock form a milky emulsion with the remaining oil.

Who needs carnation milk when you have kitchen magic? :)

Just a note though, if you've been drinking soups with carnation milk, your tastebuds will need to adjust accordingly. Cantonese-style soups are particularly light in taste.

It takes more than just a spoon of soup to appreciate the subtle flavours within.

It was a delicate, almost milky aroma of sang yee Cantonese: snake fish) inside a light, cloudy stock that was fragrant with wok hei. The sang yee was thick sliced, succulent and delicious.

Judge not by first spoon.

What makes good fried rice then?

Leftover rice. That's a definite. How would you justify paying $10 for leftover rice?

Unlike freshly cooked rice, leftover rice stored in the fridge gets rid of excess moisture, giving you firm grains that instinctly separate themselves grain-wise in the wok. If you're cook with freshly cooked rice then you'll probably end up with something akin to fried porridge. Hmm.

High heat. Not just for the wok hei but the simple fact that a layer of oil on a hot surface will form a non-stick coating for you to fry rice perfectly without sticky grain business. 

What's left?

Ingredients. That are entirely up to you. But keep those ingredients 'dry', anything wet will prevent the rice grains from heating up thoroughly and you don't really want to end up with fried mush.

So $10, portions for three with 6 prawns, diced chinese sausages, charsiew, eggs and scallions.

Simple but ohsogood.

And the fact that it came in an opeh leaf just made it even more worth the price. :)

Takeout that doesn't make dinner look nor taste any less appetizing.

Hong Kong Street Chun Kee Restaurant 香港街珍記

Block 151, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, #01-3030
Singapore 560151

kopi @ changi terminal 3

In order of taste from left to right: Qiu Lian Braised pork dry ban mian (卤肉干捞面), Mini wok's pork in herbal broth- Set A3, Jin Yu fish soup

Sending Josh for his 3 week Brunei training so we did a late dinner at the airport. Everyone's ordered a soup item :)

Qiu Lian's latest offering was marred only by the braised pork. Fatty cuts of meat and yet they were still not braised for long enough to melt in one's mouth. It wasn't hard separating the fat from the meat since neither was tender. Is this the way braised pork china-style should be? That aside, the noodles were al dente as if eating chinese style fettucine. :) And the braising sauce was a crowning delight.

Mini wok's herbal soup broth was surprisingly tasty and the set comes with a selection of vegetables, some tunghoon, pork slices, sliced mushroom, crabstick and fishmeat items. We liked it that the soup was kept bubbling throughout and was still hot by the end of the meal. 

Jin Yu's fish soup was... to be subjective, the ample slices of fish meat were fresh but the soup, even with the addition of carnation milk was not saved. It lacked flavour. A terribly watered down version.

Fats is fatty no more, digger has no special interest in diggers anymore but pet names they are and pet names they'll stay. If only for me. And even though we fight, we quarrel, we yell and sometimes we absolutely hate each other's guts,

these are my sibs and I'm happy I've got them. :)

Have a safe trip fats and we'll have abalone miso hotpot when you get home!